Staying Home Sucks, home
Yuan Wang 6 in port at Papeete 4
Papeete, the nearest town, 6 km away. Photo: Michael R Perry, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Vallée des requins

Dive site · French Polynesia

Open Water divers and up

Scored for Advanced divers

Is it worth the trip?

84Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Mon 2: Sea 0.5 m, Visibility over 30 m, Water 28 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 90 out of 100

Sea
0.5 m
Wind
5 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
25°C

Tue 3 · 83 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
6 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
26°C

Wed 4 · 68 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
10kn
Air
27°C

Thu 5 · 88 out of 100

Sea
0.9 m
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
5kn
Air
26°C

Fri 6 · 89 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
27°C

Sat 7 · 68 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
27°C

Sun 8 · 70 out of 100

Sea
0.7 m
Wind
2 kn
Gusts
9kn
Air
27°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 181, good
  2. Mon 290, good
  3. Tue 383, good
  4. Wed 468, good
  5. Thu 588, good
  6. Fri 689, good
  7. Sat 768, good
  8. Sun 870, good
  9. Mon 970, good
  10. Tue 1090, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 20 mits deepest
  • From a boathow you get in
  • Open Waterand up
  • Water 28 °C3 mm wetsuit
  • Faces NWswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at Vallée des requins
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Sun 1Nov81, good0.7 m10 kn15kn27°C
Mon 2Nov90, good0.5 m5 kn9kn25°C
Tue 3Nov83, good0.9 m6 kn9kn26°C
Wed 4Nov68, good0.9 m4 kn10kn27°C
Thu 5Nov88, good0.9 m3 kn5kn26°C
Fri 6Nov89, good0.7 m3 kn8kn27°C
Sat 7Nov68, good0.7 m4 kn9kn27°C
Sun 8Nov70, good0.7 m2 kn9kn27°C
Mon 9Nov70, good0.6 m3 kn7kn26°C
Tue 10Nov90, good0.6 m4 kn6kn26°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovHigh 01:22 +0.0 mLow 04:25 +0.0 mHigh 07:04 +0.0 mLow 15:51 −0.0 mHigh 22:18 +0.0 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 03:28 −0.0 mHigh 09:15 +0.1 mLow 16:02 −0.1 mHigh 21:55 +0.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 03:49 −0.1 mHigh 09:52 +0.1 mLow 16:22 −0.1 mHigh 22:10 +0.1 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug6of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov7of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Vallée des requins

A reef dive. It goes down to 20 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces NW: swell from the NW reaches it, and wind from the SE blows out to sea. 5 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 4.9 km away. The sea is about 27°C in July, its coldest month (3 mm wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (rash vest or 1 to 2 mm). The town to stay in is Papeete. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots and 5 dive sites.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 20 m.
  • Getting in From a boat.
  • Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres 5 dive centres or shops within 10 km, the nearest 4.9 km away.

Water about 28°C: 3 mm wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility over 30 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in May, Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep (over 30 m).

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,270–US$2,430 each

about US$1,270–US$2,430 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to PPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$603–US$1,250
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$20–US$33
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$308–US$509
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Totalabout US$1,270–US$2,430

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Papeete

Closest

Papeete

10 min by car · 33 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 33 places to stay in Papeete · Booking.com

About Papeete its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 19h 55m

About 19h 55m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PPT, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 25 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week: visibility about 20 m, greener than usual (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.

The current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.